Exclusive: Nicole Emanuele has been made a partner at Le Train Train Productions, the banner owned by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. Emanuele will produce alongside the duo and lead development.
Emanuele was a founding member of the YouTube Originals team where she developed and oversaw scripted shows like On Becoming a God in Central Florida (which was spun off to Showtime), Step Up High Water for Starz, Doug Liman’s Impulse, Season 3 of Cobra Kai and films like the Eminem-produced Bodied. Most recently, she was leading YouTube Original’s efforts in music-related content, shepherding unscripted projects with artists including Taylor Swift, Tom Petty, Migos, Anuel and Alicia Keys.
She also produced the 2012 feature film Not Waving But Drowning featuring Adam Driver and Lili Reinhart.
“I’ve long admired Rashida and Will, they are as smart, funny and genuine as their work,” said Emanuele. “I’m thrilled to team...
Emanuele was a founding member of the YouTube Originals team where she developed and oversaw scripted shows like On Becoming a God in Central Florida (which was spun off to Showtime), Step Up High Water for Starz, Doug Liman’s Impulse, Season 3 of Cobra Kai and films like the Eminem-produced Bodied. Most recently, she was leading YouTube Original’s efforts in music-related content, shepherding unscripted projects with artists including Taylor Swift, Tom Petty, Migos, Anuel and Alicia Keys.
She also produced the 2012 feature film Not Waving But Drowning featuring Adam Driver and Lili Reinhart.
“I’ve long admired Rashida and Will, they are as smart, funny and genuine as their work,” said Emanuele. “I’m thrilled to team...
- 10/19/2022
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
For the third and fourth seasons of the female-directed short film series, Shatterbox, Refinery29 is partnering with Level Forward.
Chloe Sevigny, who participated in Shatterbox's first season, will return as a featured director in the series' third season. Her short film, White Echo, has been selected to screen at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and will compete for the short film Palme d’Or.
The other directors who contributed short films to the most recent season of Shatterbox are Veronica Rodriguez, Nicole Emanuele, Kantú Lentz, Tiffany J. Johnson, Parisa Barani and Channing Godfrey Peoples.
“We are so honored ...
Chloe Sevigny, who participated in Shatterbox's first season, will return as a featured director in the series' third season. Her short film, White Echo, has been selected to screen at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and will compete for the short film Palme d’Or.
The other directors who contributed short films to the most recent season of Shatterbox are Veronica Rodriguez, Nicole Emanuele, Kantú Lentz, Tiffany J. Johnson, Parisa Barani and Channing Godfrey Peoples.
“We are so honored ...
- 5/13/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For the third and fourth seasons of the female-directed short film series, Shatterbox, Refinery29 is partnering with Level Forward.
Chloe Sevigny, who participated in Shatterbox's first season, will return as a featured director in the series' third season. Her short film, White Echo, has been selected to screen at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and will compete for the short film Palme d’Or.
The other directors who contributed short films to the most recent season of Shatterbox are Veronica Rodriguez, Nicole Emanuele, Kantú Lentz, Tiffany J. Johnson, Parisa Barani and Channing Godfrey Peoples.
“We are so honored ...
Chloe Sevigny, who participated in Shatterbox's first season, will return as a featured director in the series' third season. Her short film, White Echo, has been selected to screen at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and will compete for the short film Palme d’Or.
The other directors who contributed short films to the most recent season of Shatterbox are Veronica Rodriguez, Nicole Emanuele, Kantú Lentz, Tiffany J. Johnson, Parisa Barani and Channing Godfrey Peoples.
“We are so honored ...
- 5/13/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Twisted psycho-sexual short film that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day programming. Love, Gina is a psychological thriller about a woman who is corresponding with lover, an incarcerated man she’s never met. She becomes completely immersed in their romance, and spirals out of control when she is forced to face reality. Directed by Nicole Emanuele (“Not Waving …
The post Love, Gina – The Perfect Twisted Valentine appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
The post Love, Gina – The Perfect Twisted Valentine appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
- 2/13/2019
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
The North Fork TV Festival has set the judges panel for its upcoming installment.
Scheduled to take place Sept. 6-8 in Greenport, N.Y., the North Fork TV Festival screens independently produced pilots, plays host to industry panels, and provides networking opportunities for television professionals. This year’s judges panel will include Nicole Emanuele, scripted executive, YouTube Red; Roy Ashton, partner and head of TV literary department, Gersh Agency; Mark Armstrong, talent manager and producer, Armstrong, Caserta Management; Sally Habbershaw, Evp, sales and co-productions, Americas, All 3 Media; Dolly Turner, president and producer, the Turner Group; Katherine Oliver, principal, Bloomberg Associates and Bloomberg Philanthropies; Tony Spiridakis, founder, Manhattan Film Institute; Haleigh Raff, producer, “Late Night With Seth Meyers”; Theresa Ward, deputy county executive and commissioner, Suffolk County Economic; and Eben Davidson, Evp, scripted programming, Blumhouse Productions.
“I welcome everyone to come be a part of the audience that will change television,...
Scheduled to take place Sept. 6-8 in Greenport, N.Y., the North Fork TV Festival screens independently produced pilots, plays host to industry panels, and provides networking opportunities for television professionals. This year’s judges panel will include Nicole Emanuele, scripted executive, YouTube Red; Roy Ashton, partner and head of TV literary department, Gersh Agency; Mark Armstrong, talent manager and producer, Armstrong, Caserta Management; Sally Habbershaw, Evp, sales and co-productions, Americas, All 3 Media; Dolly Turner, president and producer, the Turner Group; Katherine Oliver, principal, Bloomberg Associates and Bloomberg Philanthropies; Tony Spiridakis, founder, Manhattan Film Institute; Haleigh Raff, producer, “Late Night With Seth Meyers”; Theresa Ward, deputy county executive and commissioner, Suffolk County Economic; and Eben Davidson, Evp, scripted programming, Blumhouse Productions.
“I welcome everyone to come be a part of the audience that will change television,...
- 4/24/2018
- by Daniel Holloway
- Variety Film + TV
Jane Rosenthal is mad as hell, but she’s got an idea for how to turn that anger into action. After weeks of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against various bigwigs in the entertainment industry, many of them waged by actresses and female filmmakers, the producer has cooked up a plan to help change the industry and the world. No surprise, it asks for talented and rising women to help each other in a male-dominated business, all for the better.
Rosenthal, who co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival with Robert DeNiro and currently serves Chief Executive Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, today opened up this year’s kickoff lunch for the third annual Through Her Lens: Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program, with some pointed remarks. As she put it, “I’m having a Howard Beale moment. Like the character Peter Finch played in ‘Network,’ I’m mad as hell,” later adding,...
Rosenthal, who co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival with Robert DeNiro and currently serves Chief Executive Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, today opened up this year’s kickoff lunch for the third annual Through Her Lens: Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program, with some pointed remarks. As she put it, “I’m having a Howard Beale moment. Like the character Peter Finch played in ‘Network,’ I’m mad as hell,” later adding,...
- 10/17/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Here’s some fun counter-programming: the anti-Valentine’s Day-themed short, “Love, Gina.” Of course, the short, a psychological thriller about a woman in love with a man who she’s never met, wasn’t made with Valentine’s Day in mind, but it’s a fitting Playlist exclusive for the day.
Directed by Nicole Emanuele (“Not Waving But Drowning“), “Love, Gina” stars “Limitless” actor Megan Guinan and features a talented crew including producer Steve Farneth of Cinetic Media, cinematography by Larry Langton, editing by Adam Robinson (“Hunter Gatherer, ” “Spring Breakers“), sound by Eric Hoffman (“Lemonade“), VFX artist Curtis Carlson (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Tomorrowland“) and original music by John Ross of Brooklyn indie rockers Wild Pink.
Continue reading Watch: The Anti-Valentine’s Day Psycho-Sexual Thriller ‘Love, Gina’ [Exclusive] at The Playlist.
Directed by Nicole Emanuele (“Not Waving But Drowning“), “Love, Gina” stars “Limitless” actor Megan Guinan and features a talented crew including producer Steve Farneth of Cinetic Media, cinematography by Larry Langton, editing by Adam Robinson (“Hunter Gatherer, ” “Spring Breakers“), sound by Eric Hoffman (“Lemonade“), VFX artist Curtis Carlson (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Tomorrowland“) and original music by John Ross of Brooklyn indie rockers Wild Pink.
Continue reading Watch: The Anti-Valentine’s Day Psycho-Sexual Thriller ‘Love, Gina’ [Exclusive] at The Playlist.
- 2/14/2017
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Ioncinema.com’s In the Pipeline is a monthly in-depth conversation about the decision making and creative process surrounding American independent film productions. It features first-time filmmakers who are moments from yelling “cut” or somewhere in post-production bliss. This month, we feature: Lance Edmands. Originally published January 24th, 2011; Factory 25 releases Bluebird in theatres Friday, February 27th.
If you live there, you know Maine is much more than just lobsters and lighthouses. Filmmaker, Lance Edmands, is going to introduce the rest of us to the local side of his home state in his feature film debut, Bluebird. Set in a small Maine town, it’s about a school bus driver who accidentally locks a young boy in a school bus on a cold winter night. The boy is taken to the hospital the next day. The story follows the aftermath of this tragedy and how it affects and changes the families involved.
If you live there, you know Maine is much more than just lobsters and lighthouses. Filmmaker, Lance Edmands, is going to introduce the rest of us to the local side of his home state in his feature film debut, Bluebird. Set in a small Maine town, it’s about a school bus driver who accidentally locks a young boy in a school bus on a cold winter night. The boy is taken to the hospital the next day. The story follows the aftermath of this tragedy and how it affects and changes the families involved.
- 2/26/2015
- by Nicole Emanuele
- IONCINEMA.com
So begins my interview with Sophie Dulac, President of the Champs Élysées Film Festival, film distributor, exhibitor and producer. The first edition of the Festival, co-presided by actors Lambert Wilson and Michael Madsen reached an audience of 15,000 people in Paris, June 6 – 12, 2012.
"And I work with another real blond and her name is Isabelle” [Svanda, General Manager], she adds.
Champs Elysees Film Festival
We are sitting in the outdoor restaurant of Fouquet’s Barriere Hotel, Paris. Also with us are Astrid de Beauregard who has handled all the 50 industry-ites converging on the festival to view four well curated U.S. indie films for the second edition of U.S. in Progress. Maxine Leonard, the festival's publicist and Matthew Akers, the director and cinematographer of Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present are also present. Little did I know he was going to win the Audience Prize for a feature length film from the U.S.
The Festival ended for me with current French resident, with white hair and beard, Donald Sutherland presenting Klute by Alan J. Pakula and starring Jane Fonda, and then giving a A Hollywood Conversation in his American accented but fluent French in a good humored atmosphere. I could write an entire blog on what that film and all that he and Jane meant to me at the very beginning of my career in the film business, but I won’t do that here. He was subsequently post-film appointed Commandeur des Arts & Lettres by Frédéric Mitterrand.
My interview with Sophie is the summit of my experience so far as a "blogger". After all I am not a journalist, nor do I pal around with the glitterati or the “elite” folks in the film business. I knew I was entering a rare atmosphere strolling everyday along the Rue de Montaigne to the Champs Elysees. And now, I was going to talk to the granddaughter of one of France's most illustrious citizens. (and no slouch herself! What a truly lovely, amazing woman!!)
U.S. in Progress
The night before, we, the jury of 9, presented the winners of the 2nd edition of U.S. in Progress with their prizes of post production services. First Prize went to a film worthy of a Cannes slot in Un Certain Regard or Fortnight or Critics Week, A Teacher by Hannah Fidell ♀, whose about-to-turn-thirty protagonist is forced to acknowledge her sin of having an affair with a student. The film's affect upon us women was overwhelmingly cathartic. Receiving an Honorable Mention, I Am I, a Sundance-worthy film, well executed very interesting story, well acted by the extremely professional first-time director Joceyln Towne ♀ with additional casting by Ronnie Yeskel ♀, one of the top indie film casting agents. Julie Bergeron, one of the nine-member jury loved Desert Cathedral, a man's quest for peace after an increasing estrangement from his life. She liked its combination of documentary depiction of the desert and the fictional story about a contemporary and universal dilemma faced by too many people today. I want to see more of the three actors, Lee Tergesen is a young and handsome William Macy type and Chaske Spencer, a charismatic First Nation descendant of Lakota (Sioux) Nation, and Petra Wright. The fourth film Michael Bartlett's House Of Last Things is Bonnie Darko meets Twin Peaks, a paean to the Maestro, David Lynch. More than 50 distributors and sales agent watched these films with us.
As part of the selection, the winner of U.S. in Progress from the 1st edition in Wroclaw, Poland last November, Not Waving But Drowning directed by Devyn Waitt and produced by Nicole Emanuele was also showing and Nicole was accompanied by the star, her boyfriend Steven Farneth from Cinetic, the godmother of the movie and other "family" members. Nicole is now working with Google and YouTube in Content Partnerships, Film/ TV while contemplating her next moves in the business.
Created by Sophie Dulac, the Festival programmed some 50 films enabling Parisian audiences to discover the variety of productions available from France and the United States, in the 5 cinema theaters of the Champs Elysees, the most beautiful avenue in the world: the normally rival cinemas Le Balzac and Le Lincoln, the rivals Gaumont Champs-Elysées and Ugc George V, and the Publicis Cinéma.
This success was thanks to an inquiring public which appreciated the simplicity of organization, the fact that projections started on time, and also the quality of programming, with a special heartfelt interest for the 10 independent films from the U.S. in the official selection.
What Makes Sophie Run?
One night at an extraordinary dinner at the Renault Restaurant on the Champs Elysees, where we sat with Julie Bergeron (of Cannes Marche prominence), Pascal Diot (former Paris based sales agent and now organizer in chief of both Venice and Dubai Ff’s Markets), Adeline Monzier (founder of U.S. in Progress and Europa Distribution), and Producer Christophe Bruncher (whose latest film, If We All Lived Together stars Jane Fonda), I learned about Sophie’s grandfather, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet,who founded Publicis in 1926 and in effect, invented modern advertising in much the same way that Lucien Barriere invented the resort and the casino. Today Publicis is a French multinational advertising and communications company, headquartered in Paris, France and one of the world's three largest advertising holding companies holding among others, Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett Worldwide. The company conducts its operations in over 200 cities in 104 countries and has a strategic alliance with Dentsu, Inc. He began it as a young man and the Nazis confiscated it as Jewish property. He fled and fought with The Free French...and worked in the Resistance under the name of Blanchet. When he returned to France, he got back his advertising agency and continued doing the sort of pioneering work he loved the best. He also added Blanchet onto his surname. Publicis' current president is Maurice Lévy who was just in the news for having called for higher taxes on the wealthy and now objecting to France’s new President's pledging that he would tax the rich 75% of their income. Read more about the company here.
One more boast about this family: One of Bleustein-Blanchet’s daughters was a legislator and is responsible for abolishing capital punishment in France.
Aside from being totally impressed by all I was hearing, I was beginning to see what informed the personality of the festival and of Sophie herself who was there and everywhere, meeting and mixing with us all. As Maxine said, in effect, Sophie is a mensch. She is the real thing, feet planted firmly on the ground and real. And yet she seems so idealistic in the choices she makes. To this remark of mine, she responded, that in fact, she is very pragmatic, but one must take pleasure in life.
Her grandfather and grandmother raised her and her brother and half brother after their 27 year old mother died in an automobile accident. Sophie was eight years old at the time.
Her grandfather told her that when he began Publicis as a teenager, he never thought about the money he might make. He did it for pleasure. He thought of how best to do what he loved to do the most. For her too, life is about innovation and being happy. She hopes that in ten years the festival and her film business will continue to inspire and motivate her.
Sophie has three children and she tells them to do whatever they want as she would advise everyone: Do what is inside of you, even if it is not what you end up doing. It will make you a better person. Her first son, whom she had when she was 17 and who is now 24, lived one year in Australia and another year in Canada. He is now working with her at the festival. Her 22 year old daughter whom she had when she was 19, lives in London, and the 19 year old, following in his brother’s footsteps, is spending a year in Australia, alone and exploring on his own.
If she succeeds in the movie business, it is because she was not born into films. She has been in the business of Arthouse film production, distribution and exhibition for ten years. Before that she was a practicing psycho graphologist, counseling people from 16 to 60 years old, male and female. You can know a person totally through the handwriting she says. She also did a stint in PR which she hated, before going into film. Her father was a writer and told her to read and so she can talk of many things, not only of business. At the end of the day, she closes her door and business does not exist (unless of course there is a problem at one of her theaters which she does drop in on on Sundays when she is not expected.) She has no scripts at home and does not watch movies for work at home. She has a well rounded education and is proud not to be 100% business.
Today she is also a sort of guardian of Israeli films in France as well. She even wears a small gold Jewish star.
Film Career
She began her film career in 2003 producing a documentary DÉCryptage which examined the French media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflictand concludes that the media's presentation of the Arab–Israeli conflict in France is consistently skewed against Israel and may be responsible for exacerbating anti-semitism. That documentary was very successful in France, drawing some 300,000 viewers and it caught the attention of Israeli filmmakers.
Famed Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz, ♀a friend of hers, suggested she help her produce a film she wrote and wanted to direct and she agreed to make Rendre Femme (aka To Take A Wife ♀ produced by Marek Rozenbaum. When Ronit asked her to produce The Band’S Visit, she did not know what to make of the script. But when she saw the footage, she recognized its great potential and stepped in as producer. Unfortunately it could not qualify for the Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film because it was filmed in Hebrew, Egyptian and English. She went on to produce My Father My Lord an implicit critique of ultra-Orthodox dogma by a filmmaker who grew up in a Hasidic community but abandoned it when he was 25 to study film.
Sophie produces other world films, including her second American film Benny And The Kids (Go Get Some Rosemary), Argentina’s Little Sky and The Camera Obscura both by Maria Victoria Menis ♀ and others including French films like the upcoming film by Jacques Douvenne.
In Cannes this year, she acquired Room 514 (Isa: Docs & Film) de Sharon Bar-Ziv ♀ which played in l'Acid in Cannes and Les Voisins De Dieu (God’S Neighbors) (Isa: Rezo) de Meni Yaesh which played in La Semaine de la Critique in Cannes as well as Directors’ Fortnight entry Le Repenti and Bence Fliegauf’s Berlin competition entry Just The Wind.
She sees festivals as a place where people can discover new films. Theaters need new ideas, directors, and distributors can take risks only if they own theaters. The triangle of festivals, distributors and exhibitors are complimentary and she finds that having all three allows her to keep selected films longer in theaters or allows for changing theaters (she owns 5 theaters including the famous St. Germain arthouse Harlequin). She recognizes that France has so many subsidies for production and distribution – 12 to 15 new films are released every week – and that gives her films more of a chance to succeed as well.
France also has, after 3 years of discussion, finally, in one year made all its theaters digital. The cost to convert is 1 million Euros. 30% of that is paid by Cnc, the government fund made up of a percentage of box office receipts. The digital norm is 2K and the Vpf (Virtual Print Fee is 5,000 Euros. All distributors must pay this first the first time showing for 4 weeks and then, there are not more VPFs.
When she asks Americans for DCPs, she is surprised to learn that they don’t have them. Even Harvey Weinstein who had a retrospective at the Festival did not have digital prints and he said that to use Blu-Ray or HD was all right with him.
Why Harvey?
Everyone loves a good Harvey story. We had heard that he did not want to travel and I was curious how she had such good luck to get him to Paris. Apparently he flew in, appeared, and flew out again.
“The opening night, with the tribute paid to American producer Harvey Weinstein who accepted, with modesty and as a film enthusiast, a trophy was presented by Sophie Dulac, in the presence of VIP guests: Virginie Ledoyen, Deborah François, Audrey Dana, Thomas Langmann, Olivier Nackache and Eric Toledan.”
What he said at this opening event was that Sophie’s brother is the godfather of his son. And when the Godfather makes a request, he cannot refuse to honor it.
So ended my interview with Sophie. As we all struck out to continue the day, Matthew Akers of Marina Abramovic said, “See you in Sarajevo”. And Sophie responded, “How chic!”...
"And I work with another real blond and her name is Isabelle” [Svanda, General Manager], she adds.
Champs Elysees Film Festival
We are sitting in the outdoor restaurant of Fouquet’s Barriere Hotel, Paris. Also with us are Astrid de Beauregard who has handled all the 50 industry-ites converging on the festival to view four well curated U.S. indie films for the second edition of U.S. in Progress. Maxine Leonard, the festival's publicist and Matthew Akers, the director and cinematographer of Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present are also present. Little did I know he was going to win the Audience Prize for a feature length film from the U.S.
The Festival ended for me with current French resident, with white hair and beard, Donald Sutherland presenting Klute by Alan J. Pakula and starring Jane Fonda, and then giving a A Hollywood Conversation in his American accented but fluent French in a good humored atmosphere. I could write an entire blog on what that film and all that he and Jane meant to me at the very beginning of my career in the film business, but I won’t do that here. He was subsequently post-film appointed Commandeur des Arts & Lettres by Frédéric Mitterrand.
My interview with Sophie is the summit of my experience so far as a "blogger". After all I am not a journalist, nor do I pal around with the glitterati or the “elite” folks in the film business. I knew I was entering a rare atmosphere strolling everyday along the Rue de Montaigne to the Champs Elysees. And now, I was going to talk to the granddaughter of one of France's most illustrious citizens. (and no slouch herself! What a truly lovely, amazing woman!!)
U.S. in Progress
The night before, we, the jury of 9, presented the winners of the 2nd edition of U.S. in Progress with their prizes of post production services. First Prize went to a film worthy of a Cannes slot in Un Certain Regard or Fortnight or Critics Week, A Teacher by Hannah Fidell ♀, whose about-to-turn-thirty protagonist is forced to acknowledge her sin of having an affair with a student. The film's affect upon us women was overwhelmingly cathartic. Receiving an Honorable Mention, I Am I, a Sundance-worthy film, well executed very interesting story, well acted by the extremely professional first-time director Joceyln Towne ♀ with additional casting by Ronnie Yeskel ♀, one of the top indie film casting agents. Julie Bergeron, one of the nine-member jury loved Desert Cathedral, a man's quest for peace after an increasing estrangement from his life. She liked its combination of documentary depiction of the desert and the fictional story about a contemporary and universal dilemma faced by too many people today. I want to see more of the three actors, Lee Tergesen is a young and handsome William Macy type and Chaske Spencer, a charismatic First Nation descendant of Lakota (Sioux) Nation, and Petra Wright. The fourth film Michael Bartlett's House Of Last Things is Bonnie Darko meets Twin Peaks, a paean to the Maestro, David Lynch. More than 50 distributors and sales agent watched these films with us.
As part of the selection, the winner of U.S. in Progress from the 1st edition in Wroclaw, Poland last November, Not Waving But Drowning directed by Devyn Waitt and produced by Nicole Emanuele was also showing and Nicole was accompanied by the star, her boyfriend Steven Farneth from Cinetic, the godmother of the movie and other "family" members. Nicole is now working with Google and YouTube in Content Partnerships, Film/ TV while contemplating her next moves in the business.
Created by Sophie Dulac, the Festival programmed some 50 films enabling Parisian audiences to discover the variety of productions available from France and the United States, in the 5 cinema theaters of the Champs Elysees, the most beautiful avenue in the world: the normally rival cinemas Le Balzac and Le Lincoln, the rivals Gaumont Champs-Elysées and Ugc George V, and the Publicis Cinéma.
This success was thanks to an inquiring public which appreciated the simplicity of organization, the fact that projections started on time, and also the quality of programming, with a special heartfelt interest for the 10 independent films from the U.S. in the official selection.
What Makes Sophie Run?
One night at an extraordinary dinner at the Renault Restaurant on the Champs Elysees, where we sat with Julie Bergeron (of Cannes Marche prominence), Pascal Diot (former Paris based sales agent and now organizer in chief of both Venice and Dubai Ff’s Markets), Adeline Monzier (founder of U.S. in Progress and Europa Distribution), and Producer Christophe Bruncher (whose latest film, If We All Lived Together stars Jane Fonda), I learned about Sophie’s grandfather, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet,who founded Publicis in 1926 and in effect, invented modern advertising in much the same way that Lucien Barriere invented the resort and the casino. Today Publicis is a French multinational advertising and communications company, headquartered in Paris, France and one of the world's three largest advertising holding companies holding among others, Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett Worldwide. The company conducts its operations in over 200 cities in 104 countries and has a strategic alliance with Dentsu, Inc. He began it as a young man and the Nazis confiscated it as Jewish property. He fled and fought with The Free French...and worked in the Resistance under the name of Blanchet. When he returned to France, he got back his advertising agency and continued doing the sort of pioneering work he loved the best. He also added Blanchet onto his surname. Publicis' current president is Maurice Lévy who was just in the news for having called for higher taxes on the wealthy and now objecting to France’s new President's pledging that he would tax the rich 75% of their income. Read more about the company here.
One more boast about this family: One of Bleustein-Blanchet’s daughters was a legislator and is responsible for abolishing capital punishment in France.
Aside from being totally impressed by all I was hearing, I was beginning to see what informed the personality of the festival and of Sophie herself who was there and everywhere, meeting and mixing with us all. As Maxine said, in effect, Sophie is a mensch. She is the real thing, feet planted firmly on the ground and real. And yet she seems so idealistic in the choices she makes. To this remark of mine, she responded, that in fact, she is very pragmatic, but one must take pleasure in life.
Her grandfather and grandmother raised her and her brother and half brother after their 27 year old mother died in an automobile accident. Sophie was eight years old at the time.
Her grandfather told her that when he began Publicis as a teenager, he never thought about the money he might make. He did it for pleasure. He thought of how best to do what he loved to do the most. For her too, life is about innovation and being happy. She hopes that in ten years the festival and her film business will continue to inspire and motivate her.
Sophie has three children and she tells them to do whatever they want as she would advise everyone: Do what is inside of you, even if it is not what you end up doing. It will make you a better person. Her first son, whom she had when she was 17 and who is now 24, lived one year in Australia and another year in Canada. He is now working with her at the festival. Her 22 year old daughter whom she had when she was 19, lives in London, and the 19 year old, following in his brother’s footsteps, is spending a year in Australia, alone and exploring on his own.
If she succeeds in the movie business, it is because she was not born into films. She has been in the business of Arthouse film production, distribution and exhibition for ten years. Before that she was a practicing psycho graphologist, counseling people from 16 to 60 years old, male and female. You can know a person totally through the handwriting she says. She also did a stint in PR which she hated, before going into film. Her father was a writer and told her to read and so she can talk of many things, not only of business. At the end of the day, she closes her door and business does not exist (unless of course there is a problem at one of her theaters which she does drop in on on Sundays when she is not expected.) She has no scripts at home and does not watch movies for work at home. She has a well rounded education and is proud not to be 100% business.
Today she is also a sort of guardian of Israeli films in France as well. She even wears a small gold Jewish star.
Film Career
She began her film career in 2003 producing a documentary DÉCryptage which examined the French media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflictand concludes that the media's presentation of the Arab–Israeli conflict in France is consistently skewed against Israel and may be responsible for exacerbating anti-semitism. That documentary was very successful in France, drawing some 300,000 viewers and it caught the attention of Israeli filmmakers.
Famed Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz, ♀a friend of hers, suggested she help her produce a film she wrote and wanted to direct and she agreed to make Rendre Femme (aka To Take A Wife ♀ produced by Marek Rozenbaum. When Ronit asked her to produce The Band’S Visit, she did not know what to make of the script. But when she saw the footage, she recognized its great potential and stepped in as producer. Unfortunately it could not qualify for the Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film because it was filmed in Hebrew, Egyptian and English. She went on to produce My Father My Lord an implicit critique of ultra-Orthodox dogma by a filmmaker who grew up in a Hasidic community but abandoned it when he was 25 to study film.
Sophie produces other world films, including her second American film Benny And The Kids (Go Get Some Rosemary), Argentina’s Little Sky and The Camera Obscura both by Maria Victoria Menis ♀ and others including French films like the upcoming film by Jacques Douvenne.
In Cannes this year, she acquired Room 514 (Isa: Docs & Film) de Sharon Bar-Ziv ♀ which played in l'Acid in Cannes and Les Voisins De Dieu (God’S Neighbors) (Isa: Rezo) de Meni Yaesh which played in La Semaine de la Critique in Cannes as well as Directors’ Fortnight entry Le Repenti and Bence Fliegauf’s Berlin competition entry Just The Wind.
She sees festivals as a place where people can discover new films. Theaters need new ideas, directors, and distributors can take risks only if they own theaters. The triangle of festivals, distributors and exhibitors are complimentary and she finds that having all three allows her to keep selected films longer in theaters or allows for changing theaters (she owns 5 theaters including the famous St. Germain arthouse Harlequin). She recognizes that France has so many subsidies for production and distribution – 12 to 15 new films are released every week – and that gives her films more of a chance to succeed as well.
France also has, after 3 years of discussion, finally, in one year made all its theaters digital. The cost to convert is 1 million Euros. 30% of that is paid by Cnc, the government fund made up of a percentage of box office receipts. The digital norm is 2K and the Vpf (Virtual Print Fee is 5,000 Euros. All distributors must pay this first the first time showing for 4 weeks and then, there are not more VPFs.
When she asks Americans for DCPs, she is surprised to learn that they don’t have them. Even Harvey Weinstein who had a retrospective at the Festival did not have digital prints and he said that to use Blu-Ray or HD was all right with him.
Why Harvey?
Everyone loves a good Harvey story. We had heard that he did not want to travel and I was curious how she had such good luck to get him to Paris. Apparently he flew in, appeared, and flew out again.
“The opening night, with the tribute paid to American producer Harvey Weinstein who accepted, with modesty and as a film enthusiast, a trophy was presented by Sophie Dulac, in the presence of VIP guests: Virginie Ledoyen, Deborah François, Audrey Dana, Thomas Langmann, Olivier Nackache and Eric Toledan.”
What he said at this opening event was that Sophie’s brother is the godfather of his son. And when the Godfather makes a request, he cannot refuse to honor it.
So ended my interview with Sophie. As we all struck out to continue the day, Matthew Akers of Marina Abramovic said, “See you in Sarajevo”. And Sophie responded, “How chic!”...
- 6/19/2012
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
#44. Not Waving But Drowning - Devyn Waitt Among the hundreds of hopefuls vying for one of the limited few spots in U.S Dramatic Comp/Next sections we've got a slice of life double portrait in Devyn Waitt's Not Waving But Drowning. Recently added among the eleven projects headed over to the Gotham in Progress showcase, here's a sampling of what this coming-of-age has to offer. Gist: This examines a time of great chaos and change in a pair of best friends lives. In the heat of their “Revolution Summer” they shed old skins and come into their new selves, together. Producer: Nicole Emanuele(IMDb Link)...
- 11/11/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Cuba is a country that has been trapped in time, bursting with music, color, and life. Most Americans won’t have the opportunity to experience Cuba as it exists now. Lucy Mulloy and her first feature film, Una Noche, are giving us a window to that forbidden world. The daughter of two animators, Lucy comes from a filmmaking family. She had studied politics in undergrad and traveled to Havana after graduation. Captivated by its stunning beauty and sadness she stayed longer than planned and inspiration seeped in. Later, at Nyu for her graduate degree in film she knew she wanted to tell a story about the journey from Cuba to the United States. It is a central story in the lives of many Cuban families; one that she heard often from the people she met when she was there. Una Noche is Lucy’s version of this story, told as...
- 10/12/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Jay Bulger lives a life that embodies a romantic’s idea of a New York City bohemian – he's been a model; actor; webisode personality; party promoter; boxer; writer, now director (to say nothing of cancer survivor). Check out his web show “Driving with Jay” (see below) or read his New York Magazine article about Paz De La Huerta, and you can see a sort of modern anthropologist at work, fascinated by personalities forming and reforming themselves in public. His current subject is Ginger Baker, the legendary Cream drummer who he profiled for Rolling Stone last year in The Devil and Ginger Baker. Baker is now the subject of Bulger's first feature documentary, nearing completion. Bulger met Baker through email, after tireless “six degrees”. They began corresponding. A few months later, he showed up unannounced at Baker's home in South Africa and somehow, convinced Baker to allow him to stay for a while.
- 4/27/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
You don’t have to be Julian Assange to get the truth about Leah Meyerhoff. She’s not afraid to tell it like it is. She made a big splash on the film festival circuit with her honest Nyu short film Twitch. It was a very intimate and dark film that portrayed disability and love in a new way, her way. She let audiences see her true self at work in the docu-drama series, Film School, directed by Nanette Burstein (Going The Distance). Now Leah is at it again with her first feature Unicorns. About a teenage girl who falls in love with an older guy and finds herself in a destructive relationship, this film, like her last one, stems from Leah’s own true experiences. After a unique childhood that left her more responsible than some adults, Leah went to Brown University to study Art Semiotics and then later...
- 3/22/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
[Editor's Note: To coincide with all the attention we're currently giving to the Sundance Film Festival, we figure there's no better time to introduce our first In the Pipeline feature of the year with a filmmaker who participated in both the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors labs. And we are returning to this feature in style with Nicole Emanuele a NYC based producer and Fsu Film School alumni who is in post production on Not Waving But Drowning. She will be profiling more In The Pipeline filmmakers and their projects throughout the year. If you live there, you know Maine is much more than just lobsters and lighthouses. Filmmaker, Lance Edmands, is going to introduce the rest of us to the local side of his home state in his feature film debut, Bluebird. Set in a small Maine town, it’s about a school bus driver who accidentally locks a young boy in a school bus on a cold winter night. The boy is taken to the hospital the next day. The story follows the aftermath of this tragedy and how it affects and changes the families involved. The town is as much a character as any person in this ensemble piece. Covered in snow and ice and surrounded by vast landscape,...
- 1/24/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
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